Boston Jermaine Tompkins, 32, of Detroit, was ordered held Tuesday in the Macomb County Jail on $500,000 bond on charges of armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

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Jermaine Passmore, 27, of Detroit, was ordered held Tuesday in the Macomb County Jail on $500,000 bond on charges of armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

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Authorities say a Foot Action employee and an acquaintance conspired to rob the Macomb Mall store of $4,500, with the acquaintance later claiming he gave part of his cut to his Detroit church.

Jermaine Passmore, 27, and Boston Jermaine Tompkins, 32, both of Detroit, were ordered held Tuesday in the Macomb County Jail on $500,000 bond each on charges of armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. If convicted, they face up to life in prison.

“The guy had a decent job; what he got was chump change,” Roseville Police Chief James Berlin said today of Passmore, who he said was assistant manager of the Foot Action store. “You’re looking at life in prison for $2,200.”

Berlin said the pair set up the heist on Aug. 3, a good sales day at the store. Tompkins told police he gave part of his cut to his church, but Berlin said police don’t yet know whether that’s true.

Police have not recovered the money.

The robbery occurred about 7 p.m. that day, when a man wearing a mask and carrying a gun entered the store and robbed Passmore of the cash. The heist was seen on store surveillance footage, initially leading police to believe Passmore’s version of events.

Further investigation revealed inconsistencies in his story, leading police to believe he was involved.

Berlin said Passmore said he was alone in the store because another employee was sick. But the employee told police she wasn’t sick and Passmore sent her home, saying she wasn’t needed, Berlin said.

Police later located Tompkins, who matched the robber’s description and had a vehicle similar to the one used to flee the scene.

Berlin said police also have phone records after investigators learned the two men had been in contact just prior to and immediately after the robbery.

Police said both men confessed after they were arrested in their homes late Friday. The men told police they staged the robbery so it would be captured on store surveillance equipment to make it appear legitimate and to lead suspicion away from Passmore.

The men have preliminary exams Monday in 39th District Court in Roseville.

The manager of the store in Roseville referred media inquiries to the corporate office, and a message was left today at the corporate office in New York.